Aerial Photos of American Amusement Parks and Leisure Spots

By Alison Nastasi

June 1, 2014

Share:

During his travels across the country, pilot and photographer Alex S. MacLean captured aerial images of playgrounds, parks, and other American leisure spots. From the air, these places of play become abstract and almost painterly (who knew tennis courts could look so appealing?). The photos reveal how the American amusement industry has inserted itself, often quite garishly, into the landscape. “Sports terms like out-of-bounds, foul ball, and home run have integrated into our everyday thinking,” MacLean told Co.Design. “Play is sort of a reenactment of real life.” This kind of artifice is best seen in the plastic, candy-colored maze of amusement park rides jutting from the earth, which feel just as surreal from the sky as they do when viewed on foot.